978 Fall of the Southern Spring Garden (Part 3)



RUMBLE~!

Following the large dragon claws tearing through the pagoda, what was left standing of the pagoda started to collapse on top of the foundation that had managed to hold on against the large pair of dragon claws.

ROOOOAR!

Seemingly offended by the fact that the foundation had managed to remain unscathed even after its attack, the large dragon brought down its large claws once again-

Chiiing~

However, even this was not more than enough to leave a claw mark on the foundation. Far from enough to actually destroy it.

ROOOAR!?

Showing a somewhat surprised expression on its massive scaly face upon discovering this, the dragon could not help freezing on the spot as it looked down towards the foundation of the pagoda with a hint of suspicion. Obviously, it made no sense for the foundation of the pagoda to be this strong compared to the pagoda itself. If the pagoda had been made from the same material as the foundation, there would have been no way for it to destroy it so easily.

What is with the foundation, why is it so much stronger than the pagoda itself? Although it would not be wrong for the foundation to be stronger than the pagoda, this is far too much…

Also feeling that something was wrong with the foundation he was currently standing on top of, Xuan Hao could not help curiously examining the foundation again. For some reason, he had a feeling that something was about to happen. Not only because the dragon would not leave behind any more than the single claw mark it had just left behind, but because a few barely visible symbols had appeared all across the foundation following the dragon's attack.

"This!? Why in the world are the symbols belonging to that snow bird present on the foundation of the Mirage Sect's pagoda- Unless… I have to get out of here!"

WHOOSH-!

Having realized something after the appearance of the barely visible symbols that now covered the entire foundation, the dragon's suspicious expression transformed into one of terror, as it turned around before flapping its massive wings-

Rumble~

However, before the dragon had time to escape, a low rumbling sound echoed out from the foundation as the barely visible suddenly lit up with a blinding brilliance that rendered Xuan Hao blind for a short moment.

ROOOOOOOAR-!

BOOM-!

All he could do was listen to the painful roar of the dragon before he heard something massive falling to the ground in front of him.

"Huh?"

When the bright light finally subdued enough for him to see again, Xuan Hao was shocked to discover the body of the dragon hovering midair above the southern spring garden. However, the most surprising part was that its entire body had been frozen solid without any signs of life left in it-

Craaaaack-!

Bang! Bang!

And before Xuan Hao had time to react, the body of the dragon suddenly broke apart before raining down on the desolated terrain below it. Slowly shaping out the terraced rough shape of the terraced pools of crystal-clear water that he had seen before being shown this vision of the past. 

As for where the crystal-clear water that would fill up these terraced pools had come from… It became rather obvious when looking at the massive chunks of ice covering the body parts of the dragon spread out across the large roughly shaped terraced pools.

Whoosh~

However, before Xuan Hao had a chance to examine the chunks of ice and the body parts of the dragon more closely, the space around him began twisting violently before he once again found himself in front of the dragon claw mark that ran across the foundation of the pagoda.

Not only that, but he also found the terrifying killing intent left behind inside the dragon claw mark trying to make its way through the meridians in his arm and follow them back towards his dantian where his soul was located-

Whoosh-!

Even without thinking for a second, Xuan Hao removed his hand from the dragon claw mark, cutting off the terrifying killing intent that was trying to make its way through his body and into his dantian.

Although he had no idea what the killing intent left behind by the dragon in the past, he had no plans to find out. After all, this was an expert that far exceeded his understanding. For all he knew, the dragon might have a way to use the remnant killing intent left behind back then to revive itself. No matter what it was, Xuan Hao had no plans to allow the killing intent anywhere near his dantian where his soul was located.

As for the killing intent that had already entered his body… It quickly began to disperse after being cut off from its source.

"I really can't be careless when dealing with anything related to the Mirage Sect…" Muttering this to himself as he looked towards the dragon claw mark in front of him, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as he distanced himself a bit further away from the dragon claw mark. Not intending to give the remnant killing intent any chance of getting close to him again.

Even if it did help him see a vision of what had caused the destruction of the pagoda in the past. The reason that it showed him this scene was most likely to prevent him from noticing the killing intent slowly making its way along his meridians and towards his dantian.

If he had been any weaker and the energy coursing through his meridian hadn't already had a chance to accustom itself to a similar level of pressure due to his encounter with the elder from the Mirage Sect, the killing intent might have already reached his dantian and infiltrated his soul at this point in time…

Feeling another shiver run down his spine as he thought about this, Xuan Hao decided to go over and check up on the rabbit demon beast. After all, there might be some remnant intent left behind in terraced pools of water that had been created by the body of the dragon in the past…